The Council of Nicea: What if the Bible Were an Instruction Book?

The Council of Nicea is easily one of the most controversial meetings ever held. There are many people that have heard part of the story, gotten the story mixed up, or never even learned the story at all. This is not surprising, considering the separation of Church and State mandated in the school system and churches are definitely not going to inform their congregations about the Council of Nicea if they can help it. The only topic that could compare to the level of animosity most people feel upon learning about the Council is the abortion debate. Now that you are prepared, here it goes.

First, let us examine the person who receives all the credit for the Council of Nicea. Constantine was a great leader, a religious leader. The surprising fact is that he was a leader of sun worshipping pagan. Yes, the man that solidified Christianity's hold on the world was a pagan. As a Roman in circa 300 A.D. this in not surprising. All Roman emperors up this point had been pagan or followers of the Pantheon of Gods that is more familiar when thought of in the Greek context. The Romans had adopted the Greek Pantheon and renamed the Gods, thus continuing a religious tradition so old that the precise date of its inception is questionable. The question is why. Why would a pagan do that?

To explain this we must look at the known facts concerning the rise of Christendom. The followers of Christ were so devout in their pursuit to gain converts that religious wars were fought and pagans were stigmatized. Christianity was the hip new religion; the trend of monotheism was gaining momentum. Pagans, (Which incidentally is a word with roots that mean "country" or "rural" because pagans generally lived far from cities and maintained the old religious traditions long after the city dwelling savvy had adopted Christianity.) noticing that their religious beliefs were no longer acceptable had to make a choice, to stand and fight or to call it a draw, allowing Christianity to announce itself as the top religion.

Notice in the last sentence the word "draw" was used. The reason is that the Council of Nicea was convened by Constantine because he wanted to preserve pagan traditions by clothing them in Christianity. Easter, named after Eostre a goddess representing re-birth, life, and growth was generally celebrated in April which was known as Eostremonath. The Easter bunny can also be traced back to Eostre, with the hare representing fertility (human and animal) and bountiful harvests. Many other Christian traditions incorporate Pagan beliefs. By combining the old and the new, Constantine insured that Paganism could never die completely while upholding the stronger and more popular Christian religion.